SoCal Trout Fishing Photo Box

Fishing for wild rainbow trout in the many mountain streams of Southern California has become one of my favorite pastimes. 

While I love hunting largemouth bass and other warmwater species, wild trout in crystal clear, ice-cold streams are a treat to catch like no other.

Recently, I took a new approach to photographing these fragile wild fish. 

Keeping them out of water too long for a picture unduly stresses them, making it difficult to get a nice shot. Instead, I brought along a small "trout box", a clear plastic container, filled with (on occasion) stream water, to allow the trout to calm down and get a nice photo.
(Click below for more photos after the jump)

On my trial run with this box, at an unnamed stream, the trout box was perfect. 

The fish all appeared considerably more relaxed than they normally would be in the grasp of a human and were all returned to this secret mountain stream quickly, without noticeable harm. I hope you enjoy these photos of these beautiful wild rainbow trout!

San Bernardino National Forest Steelhead! (Not So Much)

A few weeks ago, I went off the beaten path and explored a new stream in the San Bernardino National Forest. After hiking in, I came across a large, deep pool. First cast resulted in a missed strike, second cast with a micro jig was nailed-hookup! I quickly figured out that this was no small fry, as my drag was getting burned all around the pool. Took me a while to get a look at the fish, eventually it surfaced and I was very surprised. It was an extraordinarily large rainbow trout, especially for the size of this stream! A few more heart pounding moments later and I was able to land it, snag a few pictures and release it back to its water domain.

I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the origins of this fish. Initially, I suspected that someone had dumped a large stocked rainbow from a nearby public lake or pond into this portion of the creek. However, this fish did not have any tell-tale hatchery signs, fin clippings nor did it have the usual wear and tear of a hatchery fish. Secondly, I hooked into a similar fish just a bit downstream, of roughly the same size and markings, also in a deeper pool. I've discussed this with a few anglers who frequent the area and the general consensus is as follows: these fish are born in the tiny creek I was fishing at, then travel downstream to a large, deep section of the creek/holding pond-style area. Here, they spend their time getting fat, then eventually travel back upstream to lay their eggs, much like a sea-run steelhead would do, albeit on a smaller scale.

So, this fish isn't quite a steelhead, but it sure is doing its best to behave as one in the limited water environment of the Inland Empire! Sadly, there didn't appear to be any juvenile fish or even normal 10'' in the creek for the 1/2 mile section I explored. Hopefully these larger fish are able to spawn successfully and replenish this creek again! Catching this fish was an absolute thrill and it's really impressive to me that such a fish could survive, let alone mature to reach such a size in this small watershed. Tight lines!

Summer Los Angeles Trout Fishing in the Mountains

A little over one month ago, I took my longest hike into the San Gabriel Mountains. This was deep in the Angeles National Forest, and I hiked and fished to my hearts content at a tiny, secret mountain stream.

The secret creek I explored meandered between cliffs and forests, partially hidden from the intense Southern California summer heat. Gear was pretty simple: ultralite rod/spinning reel, 2lb mono, micro jigs with plastic trout worms and plenty of water.

I truly lost track of how many beautiful, wild rainbow trout I hooked and landed.
(Video and more after the jump)

Every pool contained stealthy shadows of wary fish, requiring a careful approach and exquisite casting technique.

The dense thicket overhead forced me to primarily flip, pitch or side-cast to place my lure in just the right spot.

  I reflected on this fantastic trip as the sun set and I hiked back to my vehicle. It was definitely one of my best small stream trout fishing experiences in SoCal.

 Some of the fish were quite large, especially by wild trout standards in this region of the world. My largest was roughly 14'', safety released back into the wild after a quick photograph.

I hope you enjoy the video I've put together showcasing this fantastic trip, piano music and all.

Tight lines!

Trout Trout Trout

Location: Los Angeles National Forest
Target: Rainbow Trout
Operation: Success
Hiked in. Fished. Had fun. Enjoy the results.

 (More after the jump + video)

Check the gnarly bug hatch out!

Threw micro jigs and trout worms. All fish catch-photo-release. Found some sweet rainbow trout action in deep pools further along the creek. Lost a much larger trout at the very end of my trip. Kind of overpowered my 2lb mono ultralite setup. 

All in the Angeles National Forest. Please practice catch and release or these trout streams will quickly be empty (no longer stocked).

Angeles Waterfall Rainbows

Went hiking in the San Gabriels, Angeles National Forest. Came across a fantastic waterfall with a deep pool at its base. The rest of the creek wasn't great for fishing, but this pool produced two tough, chunky rainbows, around the 12-14'' range. First was caught on a soft plastic worm/jighead, the second on a Yo-Zuri Snap Bean imitation lure. Both released to be caught another day.

San Bernardino National Forest Rainbow Trout Creek Fishing

Not much to share here, except amazing scenery, beautiful fish and another lasting set of memories from trout fishing in the San Bernardino National Forest. All fish 100% Catch and Release.
Oh, and how about a little video from the trip? Check it out below.